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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: hand · chest · band · ball · bat · fine · date · track

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. date — the fruit
  3. track — a path
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. fine — all right
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. band — a ring
  9. ball — a great time
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — of your body
  14. ball — a dance
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. track — to keep track
  18. bat — the animal
  19. fine — high quality
  20. band — a music group
  21. chest — a box
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. track — a song
  24. hand — help

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com